Mickey Kaline (pronounced as "Kay-Line") is a fictional character in the Hey Arnold! TV Series.
He is Arnold's favorite baseball player who plays for the Hillwood Black Sox. He retires after hitting a home run in his final career at-bat, which Arnold catches and gives back to him. The name is most likely a combination of legendary New York Yankee Mickey Mantle, and Detroit Tiger great Al Kaline, who were both first-ballot Hall Of Famers.
Before Kaline hits his final home run, Arnold states that Kaline had a lifetime average of .299, and hit 533 home runs. Assuming that Arnold was current with his stats, Kaline's final home run would be his 534th, and would have tied him with Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx on the all-time home run list. Arnold also states that Kaline married his high school sweetheart Shirley, wears a size 13 shoe, and goes by the nickname "Chet."
Early in his career he was severely injured by Johnny "Target Practice" Banks, who suffered from "Dangerous Lumber."
Kaline tells Arnold that he once faced Bob Gibson, a St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, in the World Series. Gibson played in three World Series: in 1964 against the New York Yankees; in 1967 against the Boston Red Sox; and in 1968 against the Detroit Tigers. Thus, we can deduce that at one point in his career, Kaline played for either the Yankees, Red Sox, or Tigers. However, Kaline may be stretching the truth. Kaline retired in 1996, and even if he were a rookie playing in the 1968 World Series for the Tigers, that would give him a 29-year Major League career, an unlikely feat, seeing as the record for longest Major League career belongs to Nolan Ryan, at 27 seasons.
After retiring, Kaline opened a hot dog restaurant called "Mickey's All-Natural Casings Dog Pound." When Arnold gave up baseball because he kept injuring his friends, he patronized Kaline's restaurant, where Kaline diagnosed him with "Dangerous Lumber" and advised him that the only way to get over it was to face his fears and hit again. Arnold followed his advice and hit a game-winning home run, which (unbeknownst to Arnold) landed on Kaline's head. Kaline returned the ball to Arnold, mirroring their first encounter.
Mickey wore number three for the Hillwood Black Sox. He bats and throws right-handed, and played first base at least once during his career.
Trivia
- During his final game Mickey Kaline can be seen with what resembles a white sock patch on his shoulder. This is resemblance of a secondary logo used by the Chicago White Sox.
Appears in
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